


Nibble, Nibble

by Jason_M_Lee



Series: Nibbles-verse [1]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Adorkable, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, Dysfunctional Family, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Uncle Dante (Devil May Cry), Uncle-Nephew Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 13:29:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19210396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jason_M_Lee/pseuds/Jason_M_Lee
Summary: Lady wasn't expecting a third-party when Dante invited her for Christmas dinner. Post DMC3.Separate re-post.





	Nibble, Nibble

**Author's Note:**

> _Devil May Cry_ © Capcom

Whatever Lady was going to say died at the sight before her after she stepped through the threshold.  
  
"Oh, hey, Lady! C'mon in! Lock the door, will ya? I still haven't gotten one of those open/closed signs yet and it's freezing out there."  
  
Numbly, she locked the doors behind her, feeling that familiar tingle of wards settling back in place. "Dante-"  
  
Plates clinked from the kitchen towards the back. "Hope you don't mind some of the mess. I'm still getting used to this, too."  
  
"Dante-"  
  
"Also, sorry if I didn't respond back to most of your calls. Been taking some of the local jobs, shitty that they were, but a couple were some decent ones."  
  
"DANTE!"  
  
The mop of silver-white hair popped out from behind the corner that separated his front "office" and the kitchen. A spoon dangled from his mouth. "Yesh?"  
  
Lady gestured widely, almost itching for a pistol to make sure that this person wasn't a demon disguising itself as Dante. "What the hell happened here?! Your drum kit and jukebox is still in their place with a fence around them, I can see some of the furniture has been shuffled a bit under the staircase, it's actually reasonably CLEAN, you got those cheap Christmas lights, and -" She squinted. "- why the hell do you have a baby strapped to your back with your hair color? The kid's yours, right?"  
  
She wasn't quite expecting the smile that would've no doubt charmed half the girls at Love Planet as he took the spoon out of his mouth, but she did catch the tinge of grief underneath the cheer. Wide stormy blue eyes on a chubby face stared at her in bewilderment, blinking slowly at her.  
  
"No, he's not mine." He paused, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "Although, he might as well will be, at this point."  
  
"Then-" She almost didn't want to believe it, but there was only one other person. "Vergil."  
  
Dante nodded, stepping out from the kitchen and setting down a large bowl onto his desk. If it wasn't for the unexpected surprise, she would've been snarking at his ridiculous apron that had what looked like a cartoonish Hell Pride running away from a giant salt shaker wielding a fork and knife.  
  
"Whoever she was, she left paperwork at the orphanage several months earlier, and they called me a couple weeks ago. Caretaker there had to do some fast talking to get me to the place, because I couldn't believe it either the first time, even when she mentioned the white hair. It was only after they brought out the sprog that finally convinced me, especially his scent and my devil instincts." Calloused hands easily capable of swinging a demon-forged claymore was gentle on tucking the baby boy in his red-and-blue onesie against his shoulder after undoing the straps of the carrier. "Heck, it was a good thing I went. That orphanage wasn't exactly at the best place for a kid like him."  
  
"Why?" Lady had to admit that his nephew was rather adorable, the girly side of her she had tried to bury fighting to come out and was cooing at the wide stare that hadn't left her face. The hunter part of her was a bit wary, noting how his eyes kept tracking her as she moved closer.  
  
A snort as he stroked the downy hair, letting out a deep purr when he heard a distressed whine from the baby. "It was on Fortuna."  
  
She winced. While the statue that was supposed to be Sparda in human form on horseback in the park nearby was somewhat creepy, she found the whole worshiping of Sparda by the islanders there to be highly unnerving, and that was even through hearsay from the more experienced hunters. One man claimed to had been one of the middle-ranking members of the group, some "Order", and had fled because he found out about certain things that weren't meant for anyone else except the higher ranks. Part of the problem was that he tended to be drunk most of the time, so not a lot of hunters believed him, but now Lady was feeling a bit guilty for not taking his words a bit more seriously. "Yeah, that would definitely be a shitty place."  
  
"Yup. Anyways, wanna hold him?" There was a wide smile on Dante's face, gesturing with his nephew still in his arms.  
  
Lady had to fight to keep her mouth from dropping open. "I- Kids- Don't know-"  
  
"Same with me at the start, but I'm a fast learner." He tilted his head, a teasing glint in his ice blue eyes. "What, scared you'll drop the kiddo? Been there, done that, thankfully on my bed."  
  
"If there's one thing I've learned about demons that's absolutely true, it's that they can get protective over their offspring when there are strangers around," she snapped back almost hotly.  
  
"Yeah, and? C'mon, kid doesn't bite. Yet." That mocking challenge growing in his smile. "Bet the kid'll like you, woncha, squirt."  
  
A delighted baby babble when Dante rubbed their noses together, the half-devil hunter chuckling when the boy smacked him on the cheek several times.  
  
She had never seen him this genuinely content before, in the many months they've known each other.  
  
' _He trusts you_ ,' a voice that sounded suspiciously like her mother whispered in her head. ' _He's trusting you with the last of his family member._ '  
  
Trust.  
  
Maybe it was the paranoia after finding her mother's dead body and learning that it was her fa- Arkham who had done the deed, something one clan mother had commented how she was too young to be feeling cynicism towards others. She had trouble trusting for weeks, be it information or some of the fixers she and Dante would encounter, that paranoia layered behind biting words, sarcasm, and a rather prickly attitude. One weaponsmith finally told her that even if she wasn't willing to completely trust anything or anyone, she was going have to learn to fully trust again because it wasn't going to be healthy for her mind or any relationships. Hunters had to learn to trust, be it their equipment, their informants, their partners, and their instincts, or they'd be dead hunters, he had said bluntly.  
  
She had shot at him with a missile and a bullet the first time they met. They fought each other on who would go face off Arkham and Vergil, both feeling responsible for the messes their relatives had created.  
  
And yet...

_"Maybe somewhere out there even a devil may cry when he loses a loved one."_

As if agreeing with his uncle, the boy made several gurgling noises, arms reaching towards her.  
  
Letting out a soft laugh in defeat, Lady allowed herself be guided on how to position her arms properly for a secure hold. Stormy blue eyes stared at her with intense curiosity, wriggling just a bit in her unfamiliar presence. "What's his name?"  
  
A sad yet fond smile. "Nero."  
  
"How ironic, but... not a bad name."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"He's got a grip though. Ow. OW. He bit my ear!"  
  
"Nero, c'mon, let go of nice Auntie Lady!"  
  
"I thought you said he doesn't bite!"  
  
"Yet, I said! Yet!"  
  
"Ow ow ow, Nero, please let go of my hair and stop chewing my ear!"  
  
"Kiddo, you're not gonna get any spaghetti tonight if you don't let go!"

**Author's Note:**

> Re-posting this separately so that it'll be easier on myself to keep track. Day 12 from Smootch-tober 2018, "kiss on the ear" in "[Bouquet of Calendula](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173560/chapters/38145923)".


End file.
